History buffs, take heart. A National Park honoring Harriet Tubman could open as early as 2013 in Auburn, New York, and Dorchester County, Maryland, thanks to legislation that finally passed the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee last Thursday (lawmakers rejected the bill on its first two go-arounds, in 2008 and 2009). If the full senate OKs the measure, the parks will preserve 32 acres of historic properties in Auburn, including Tubman’s home, and build a visitor center in Dorchester County, where Tubman was born. Can’t wait another year? There are dozens of Underground Railroad stations-turned-B&Bs where you can explore the trap doors, secret passageways, and sly escape routes that transported slaves to freedom in the North.

1852 Hall Place B&B, Glasgow, Kentucky: Mother Nature herself supplied the escape route at Hall Place: A string of caverns, accessible from the house, lead to an above-ground spring. Original homeowner Judge Christopher Tompkins once taught Abraham Lincoln, was an ardent supporter of the Underground Railroad, and supplied lifetime care for each of his own slaves in his will.

Ashley Manor, Barnstable, Massachusetts: Ashley Manor, built in 1699, has been on both sides of history: As a Revolutionary War hideout for Tories and as an Underground Railroad stop in the nineteenth century. Slaves were thought to have used a secret passageway connecting the upstairs and downstairs to escape via the cellar.

Samuel Fitch House, Westford, Massachusetts: Two spaces offered slaves refuge in this Massachusetts home: A tunnel beneath the house, and a warm hideout next to the chimney, hidden behind a removeable wall in a bedroom closet.

Munro House, Jonesville, Michigan: A ceiling entrance conceals a basement room large enough for 12 adults in the Munro House, which is believed to have sheltered some 400 runaway slaves seeking safety and freedom in nearby Canada.

Great Valley House of Valley Forge, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: A tunnel from the main house originally intended to store vegetables became an important hideout for fleeing slaves in the nineteenth century. Today, two green doors at the entrance commemorate the history.